My White And Gold Nativity And A Manger Scene You Won't Forget

I saw this set several years ago

at Sam's Club of all places.

It was exactly what I had been looking for.

I set it up on top of a display case in our foyer.

I put down a strand of white lights,

then cover it with "snow" batting.

Then I wind a soft white feathery boa  through it.

When any air moves at all the feathery boa

moves and it looks like a living, breathing scene

The lithograph above it is one my father had

when he set up housekeeping in the early 1920's.

Each piece is quite beautiful for a 

mass produced product.

I love how it looks at night with the soft white under lighting.

MyHero's Grandmother Clara 

had a set quite like this

that she told me would be mine someday.

Somehow it got lost 

when they sold her home in Florida.

This is not the quality that her set was 

but it still reminds

me of the nativity she so treasured.

Now that you have seen some beautiful pieces

I want to show you another beaut!

I know you will love this!

This is set up in a yard on the way to 

the girls' school.

Ummmm... Do you love that it is made out of 

STOLEN ROADSIDE SIGNS?

And Oh!  For the love of all that is Holy
WHERE is Mary, Joseph & Baby Jesus?

Perhaps they haven't stolen those pieces yet....

DEAR Me! Look What We Found In The Woods

First off I want to apologize

for not visiting like I usually do.

This has been a crazy time since

CJK got sick.

I am behind all the way around and 

trying to play catch up.

Bear with me- 

I promise to be back to my old schedule soon!

Meanwhile,

Is there anything sweeter than a 

Daddy and his three little girls

going on the hunt for the perfect tree?

BEFORE he married my daughter and had kids,

my son-in-law, The Brawny Man,

was a hunter-a big hunter.

He used to go into the woods and bag himself

a deer every year.

Now that he has kids his hunting skills

have gone rapidly downhill.

Now the deer find HIM and his family!

Lulu, SweetCheeks and Ria

have sworn off venison for life now!

Hope your DEEREST wishes come true today!

Romantic Homes December Issue 2013

It is COLD and SNOWY

and I am feeling a tad 

lazy tired.

I figured today is a

 a good day to do my

"review" of the December issue of

Romantic Homes.

I have to say that I am really disappointed

they removed the little 

blogger spotlight features

they used to do.

AND

The whole layout of the magazine has changed

somewhat.  It has a "slicker" feel to it now-

with advertising more prominent.

I hate to say this but I really liked he old

format/style better.

However,

that does NOT mean that there aren't some

great features here.

Let's start with something to EAT!

They highlight these cookies from

 Betty Crocker's Christmas Cookies-2014

Aren't those CUTE COOKIES?  

These would be fun to make, wouldn't they?

Do YOU think turquoise/aqua at Christmas?

This is so softly pretty that I just love it!

This belongs to Donna @ Vintage Chic Furniture

Try as I might I could not find a direct link

to Ellen O'Loughlin of E&B Designs

So, it doesn't look like she has 

a web site for her business.

She has a fourteen page spread 

in this issue and it is called

Christmas On The Cape.

Look- See for yourself!

And LOOK here!

Ellen, if you ever read this-

Can I come sit at your table if I promise not to lick the silverware?

Pleeeease!!!

And here is our sweet Courtney from

French Country Cottage

She has been shamelessly 

 copied but cannot be duplicated.

This Victorian Christmas table is shown by the

very talented Jo-Anne Coletti@

Vintage Rose Collection

If you don't know her and her artwork you are in for a treat.

She is one of a kind.

You know who else is one of a kind?

MyHero's little friend!

Here he is swinging on the dining room chandelier.

He's on his own in this adventure.

My Hero hasn't done that in years-

although I may have a picture of him with 

a lampshade on his head somewhere...

Better be nice to me, MyHero,
or I will post it here!

Happy Belated Birthday SweetCheeks!

Your birthday got kind of pushed

to the side this year because

your little cousin, CJK, was so sick.

Nana didn't forget your birthday though.

I'm just a little late posting about it.

You were born a tad early.

You were no bigger than

a minute.

You weighed in at right

around 5 pounds and

were whisked to the

Neonatal Intensive Care.

You stayed there for 15 days.

I visited you and

put your sweet little

head right against the

bare skin below my neck.

Skin-to-skin

one of the best things

for a newborn.

Then you came home

to your two big sisters, Lulu & Ria.

When you were three 

you started patting just 

below my neck and saying

Thisss isss my favrut spoht, Nana.

You still do that 

from time to time 

and it always 

makes my heart smile

because I know that 

God gave you that special

spot close to my heart.

Your Mom thought it was cute

to dress you as a chicken

for Easter.

We loved you as a chicken and

we loved you when you

were dressed as a 

Princess...

and we loved you 

when you were a

HOT MESS!

When you were three you

loved going with Nana for a

STARBUCKS smoothie.

Oh! You were my kinda girl.

I loved it when you went to the 

CHRISTMAS TREE FARM

with your family.

You had a little misadventure

leaving the farm one year when you-

were held hostage

by a bush!

I laugh every time I see that picture.

You also saw Santa that day and told

him what you wanted.

You saw Santa AGAIN the next day

and when he asked you what you 

wanted you said.

I  jusssht telled yohu yesturrday

did yohu forgit allreaddy?

You made me smile even

when you were pouty.

And I smiled when I 

watched you dance...

gotta love 

A Mouse!

Now I am smiling  again this year 

because you are

once again

"almost famous"

as the baby face

of Broadway.

Two Years In A Row!

And someday, Lord willing, I will see

you as a beautiful bride

with this kind of expression

on your sweet face.

This year you only wanted one thing-

An American girl doll named Ruthie.

And it is wonderful when 

Nanas & Papas 

can make wishes come true.

You are growing up fast...

WAY TOO FAST~ 

But~no matter how big 

you get you will always

be my wee slip of a girl-

My Little Princess.

Happy  Belated Birthday!

Nana loves you,

SweetCheeks

Fitz And Floyd Find A Home Thanks To Itch And Scratch

I have been busy all week.

I have watched CJK part time and 

been working the rest of the time to

get the house set for Christmas.

AND because 

Itch & Scratch

MyHero & oldest son, Mr.T

brought up EVERYTHING from the basement

I decided it would be a good time to 

FLIP my sewing area with the storage area.

Yes, you are wondering WHAT is wrong with me,

aren't you?

I am not sure-but crazy comes with a price.

The price for me is that I am almost too tired

to do a post for this morning.

However,

I will do a SHORT post and show you

just a few quick shots of my large

Fitz and Floyd Santa and Reindeer

that takes center stage on my

dining room table.

The kids gave these to me a few years ago

and I truly treasure them-

(the kids AND the pieces!;>)

One more quick shot.

AND- What do you suppose MyHero was doing 

while I was running around like a chicken with my

head cut off?

Oh-He was busy, too.

He and his BFF were busy exercising by using

the remote control.

It's amazing how SOMEONE that is heavily engrossed

in a Lifetime Movie doesn't even notice 

that they have a companion sitting next to them.

Hope Your Hero has a good little 

helpmate, too.

More decorations tomorrow.

I am getting there, folks, I am getting there!

The Spode Story and Monkeying Around

Every single Christmas since I got married

I have taken the Spode out of its hidden

storage space and put it in the china cabinet

for Christmas.

The cabinets have changed over the years

as we moved.

The china cabinets in this house are built-ins

in the dining room.

This was taken at night so is a tad "off"

but I tried to lighten it so you could see it.

We started out with two place settings of Spode for

our first Christmas and then the grandmothers

added another place setting every year

until we had service for 12.
Remember when I helped my friend,
Ruth, stage her house here?
She gave me several more pieces, too.
So, now I will think of her and Tom
every time we use the set.

This is bit of close up of the other end of the mantle.

The copper tree is a gift from my son & his wife.

It has birthstones on it for every member of our family.

Pardon the green  light cords- I haven't "buried" them yet.

After we had service for 16 there were 

serving pieces added.

I love this set.

All of our kids grew up with this set and now my grandkids get to eat off it, too.

I used to be afraid of breaking it but now I have

decided to just use it and enjoy it.

There is an antique musical tree 

tucked up into one corner.

It's missing a bauble or two which makes it all the 

more precious to me.

And, can you guess what else is precious to me?

This sweet boy that spent the day with me yesterday

as he continues to recover.

We did a little monkeying around.

Look who stood up to get the monkey

off his back truck!

Buh-Bye Monkey!

I am doing things in dribs and drabs here

so bear with me.

I hope to post some more Christmas pictures tomorrow.

WAIT till you see what that ELF is up to now!

You won't want to miss it!

MyHero might or might not be 

featured also.